The REAL Adventures of a SoCal Mom

My new gallery wall

2012-05-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

I love pictures. In fact I am a little bit of a picture fanatic. In every sense. Not only do I like to take them, I like to display them. Everywhere. I am always looking for new places and ways to display them. That is one downside to our house, our downstairs doesn't have a hallway. No hallway means no picture gallery. *insert sad face* So I had to make my own quasi-hallway/picture gallery. Here is how/where I did it.

A wall that separates our kitchen from our formal living/dining room.

I wanted to use a lot of pictures, and didn't want a bunch of frames to clutter the area up. That is how I came up with the idea of using the acrylic frameless frames.

They are super cheap at Michael's. (Although it adds up when you buy a ton like I did) Here is a little piece of information about me. I am incredibly impatient. I don't have the patience to do outlines and drawings of where exactly to hang my pictures. So I will not give advice on how to do that. How did I do it you ask? I literally just did it. I went across the top with alternating sizes and just made sure they were in a line. Then I went down the left side and worked my way towards the right. BUT I am only giving you the idea here..I suppose not the how to, sorry. But, because I used so many different sizes (8x10, 5x7, 4x6) finding places for something of every size was not that hard. ( I will secretly admit that behind the pictures is hundreds of tiny nail holes, but whatevs, you can't actually see them) LOL...

If you notice, I put pictures of flowers I took in the middle of the pictures to match whatever colors the kids had in their clothes, or to match the background colors of the pictures, just to make things pop a little more.

What do you think? Do you want to do it? Let me know!

-Kim

Linking up to

http://polkadot-pretties.blogspot.com

I don't speak Starbucks.

2012-05-15T06:31:00.001-07:00

Anyone who knows anything about me knows I am clearly not speaking about myself. I am talking about Steve, my husband who sadly has no interest in coffee. (Wierd, I know). But, you know what he does like? Frappuccinos. Frothy, icey, diabetic coma inducing Frappuccinos. However, even those, he will not order. He refuses to pay $4.75 for a drink. (Me? Well, that's a whole other story.)

Anyways, it is Mother's Day. We are on our way home from the beach. See? Aww...

Steve announces we are going to Starbucks. Yum! I am stoked...I love me some Starbucks. We get to the window and I order a tall coffee frappuccino. He looks at me and says "Tall means small, right?" "Yes, it does." I say. "Are you sure you want a small?" he asks. "Yes, I am sure", I reply. Dylan asks for a venti cookie crumble frappuccino. "Venti? That's the big one, right?" He asks...."yes, it is." *Sigh*

We get to the window.

Strbx girl "Welcome to Starbucks, can I take your order?"

Steve "Yes, I will have a tall coffee frappuccino and a venti cookie crumble frappuccino."

Strbx girl "A tall coffee frap and a venti cookie crumble frap?"

Steve "Yes, please."

Strbx girl "Would you like the cookie crumble with or without coffee?"

Steve "What?"

Strbx girl "Would you like the cookie crumble with or without coffee?"

Steve "However it comes please."

Strbx girl "Yes, sir, would you like it with....or without coffee?"

(I am not helping, because I am dying of laughter next to him)

Steve "Just the one in the picture please."

Strbx girl "Yes, sir, it comes withorwithoutcoffee."

Steve "Okay, just the way you normally make it."

Strbx girl "Sir, would you like it with mocha, or with chocolate?"

Steve "Yes, please with cookie crumbles"

(I currently sound like a hyena I am laughing so hard)

Strbx girl "Okay sir, we will have your total at the front window"

(I guess she gave up)

We get to the window and a guy hands Steve my coffee frappuccino and takes Steve's credit card. I take a drink and say "Could you ask them if my coffee frappuccino is made with or without coffee?"

He just looks at me and says, "Kim, you know I don't speak Starbucks"

No, Steve, you don't.

-Kim

Reasons why we love Mommy

2012-05-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

With the coming of Mother's Day, it got me thinking to what my favorite present has ever been from the kids.

Steve and the kids got together one year when the 3 big kids were little and made a video for me for Christmas. The video goes like this.

"Reasons why we love Mommy"

Ashley's answer, "She bees nice to me, she gives me cuddles, she bees sweet to me...etc."

Dylan's answer, with a forced smile through tears because he had to come in from playing outside with his friends and he didn't want to. "She let's us play outside with our friends (LOL, the irony) she gives us trucks to play with, she let's us jump off the big rock outside etc." All things he currently is enduring NOT being able to do because he has to make this stupid video.

Jenna's answer, "She gives us pillows, and waffles and pop tarts and toast all the days. She gives us shampoo, she bees sweet to me, she let's me play all the days...this goes on and on and on and on. Then she stops, cocks her head to the side and says "Wait...I forgot all the stuff!" Yes, that's what she said.

Then the video moves on.

"Dance Show for Mommy"

This "dance show" is being performed by the kids and our dog at the time, McKinley to the Freaky Friday Soundtrack. They are dancing happily, jumping off the fireplace...all fun and games. Slowly, Ashley is edging in front of Jenna, Jenna pushes back. It turns into a constant battle of who is going to get more face time in front of the camera and the scene quickly ends with Jenna growling in a corner.

"Pet Show for Mommy"

Ashley is manhandling one of our cats Flash. He is not happy. McKinley(the dog) is in Flash's face as Ashley squeezes tighter and tighter and tighter. Telling me all the reasons why Flash is a great cat. Ending in Flash making a run for his life with McKinley chasing after.

Dylan brings out his lizard. Is that Flash? He's back? Hmmmm....

Jenna brings out her rabbit Jenga. Jenga keeps getting away and pooping E.V.E.R.W.H.E.R.E. on his way. Pretty soon, Jenna is climbing under and behind the Christmas tree trying to get Jenga. When McKinley is back in the picture. Jenga is getting faster and faster. Jenna is getting mad. This ends with Jenna tightly squeezing Jenga and telling me why she is a good bunny. Jenga hops out of her hands and Jenna says "Wait, I forgot all the stuff!"

"Fashion Show for Mommy"

Ashley comes out in my skirt, my shirt and shoes she has been begging me to wear, but I don't let her because her tiny little feet will ruin the leather and make creases where they don't belong. She is happy.

Dylan comes out wearing Steve's PJ pants up to his neck and some steel toed boots. He is clomping into the room calling himself "Mr. Fancy Pants." Why yes, those ARE some fancy pants dude.

Jenna comes walking in wearing one of my dresses and some shoes she too can't wear. She is happy.

"A Play"

They play out Little Red Riding Hood. They are dressed in character and all. Dylan is the Big Bad Wolf. Ashley is Little Red Riding Hood and Jenna is Grandma. They are acting out the entire thing, when it gets to the part with Grandma in bed and Dylan reveals himself as NOT Little Red Riding Hood BUT the Big Bad Wolf. Jenna pulls out a plastic baseball bat from under the covers jumps up out of bed screaming and beating the heck out of Dylan. Dylan is running (in steal toed boots) Clomp. Clomp. and Jenna is right behind him with a bat.

Now I HAVE to say, I was a little stressed out during this video. They were all proud, and I just kind of sat there smiling like "Wow, um, thanks."

But almost 10 years later. It brings tears to my eyes I am laughing so hard missing their little voices. Missing them wanting to wear my clothes and play dress up and jump off big rocks. Their little thoughts, their child-like reactions to things, all the little daily things they used to do, that they no longer do. But you miss it when they stop. That was by far the best gift I have ever received. We watch it every Christmas. Cherish your little ones on this Mother's Day friends. Happy Mother's Day to all you Mama's out there!

-Kim

Yes, it really happened....

2012-05-08T08:57:00.002-07:00

As I mentioned in my last post, the flu hit our house. All you parents of multiple children know how deadly this plague can be....and you can't win either way, either EVERYONE is sick at the same time...which is The Terrible Horrible Awful because there is NOBODY to take care of ANYONE or...it lasts forever....they drop like flies days in succession....which also sucks because there is NO end in sight. Blech.

Anyways, we were sick. As I lay on the couch (because that is all I can muster up my energy to do)...I have my trusty box of tissues next to me...Only thing is, Ella got into them...you know two year olds and tissue, where it is super cool to pull them ALL out...ahh yes. So my tissue box is just shoved full of tissue. Se la vei.

Caiden is now potty trained and during my stint on the couch has decided to take it upon himself to potty train Ella. This is NOT working out for me, because now she keeps ripping off her diapers and peeing EVERYWHERE. And I am not well...the last thing I want to do is continually duct tape diapers on my kid and clean pee. But that is what I did. (Yes duct tape was clearly the best solution...)

I promise all of this will make sense soon. I will now explain the duct tape.

We have the little potty chair in the living room.

Ella rips off her diaper...sits on the potty...actually pees...I praise her "Yay Ella!"

She stands up, walks over to my box of tissues.

Wipes her bottom.

Shoves the tissue BACK IN THE BOX people.

Back in the box!

Are you understanding what this means for me???

Do you know how many times I have closed my eyes and she has just been running around naked?

Do you know how many tainted tissues I used?

See.

That is the problem.

I don't even know the answer to that question.

Now you get it. She doesn't take off her diaper anymore. Thank God. No, I am not potty training until I am well and off of my NEW box of tissues...and yes, that really happened.

-Kim

I declare my independence from the critics and their stones

2012-05-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

We started our crazy week with 3 of my 5 kids sick with the flu...then I was fighting it off all week. Then, I was personally attacked (on my birthday)...a true character assasination. Funny thing is...I took it in...for a very brief time. Long enough for me to not even be able to make a funny post here on my lovely blog :) I have a theme song...a song I want to share with all of my friends in blog land...because we can ALL be a one girl revolution. I want every person who may be struggling with something, it can be anything to understand that God made you...perfect you and loves you JUST HOW YOU ARE. Don't EVER change for anyone or anything...EVER. AND to add to that... "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

My favorite line in this song (and I do realize most people don't click on videos and watch them) is "I declare my independence from the critics and their stones". But if you are going through anything in your life...this is the song for you.

I promise next week I will be back to my funny easy-going self friends!

-Kim

Tag you're it!

2012-04-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

I must start this post by saying I NEVER participate in these kinds of posts. But I am making an acception because I am coming to love the person who tagged me, she has a super fun blog I really enjoy to read :) I was tagged by Allison over at To Infinity and Beyond.

The Rules:
1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus the eleven facts about you.
3. Choose eleven people and link them in your blog.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs.
6. You legitimately have to tag.

So here are 11 things you may or may not know about me.

(forewarning, these may or may not make me look crazy)

1. I hate the sound of people's thumbs rubbing together.

2. I was engaged at the age of 17, married and had my first child at the age of 18.

3. My husband I have moved 12 times in our almost 16 years of marriage. (And no he is not in the military)

4. I am a self-professed paint-a-holic. I can't keep things the same for too long, it gets way to boring.

5. I can sing all the words to just about any song, I sing all the time, and I have a terrible voice.

6. If you read my blog, you know how much I love coffee. Like, I could not survive without it kind of a love...

7. My three year old son has Apraxia of Speech.

8. I have green carpet. Click here to find out why.

9. I went to school to become an Interior Designer, but my career is on hold for my awesome family.

10. My last child was born at 32 weeks gestation and is perfectly healthy.

11. The Office is my favorite show.

My Questions:

1. Would you rather go to the beach or pool? Beach...duh...lol.
2. Have you traveled abroad? If so, where? Mexico
3. Who are you named after? myself...
4. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? Tahiti
5. Are you an organizer or procrastinator? both
6. When is your birthday? Next week! I will be 34 on May 2nd
7. What is your biggest peeve? Lazy people
8. If you were stranded on an island, what is the one thing you would want with you? I could be all sappy and say my kids....but I think I will answer my computer...
9. What is your favorite color? right now pink...it always changes.
10. If you could be a super hero, who would you be? I am my own superhero...lol..or batman

11. What are you passionate about? my kids.

My questions for you are.

1. What is your favorite TV show.

2. What has been your favorite age.

3. What is your best childhood memory?

4. What is the most embarassing thing that has ever happened to you?

5. Do you have any quirks?

7. Do you like to cook?

8. Do you work outside the home?

9. Have you ever done anything to embarass your kids?

10. What have your kids done to embarass you?

11. What is your most precious object (not a person)

Nicole @ http://www.ninjamomblog.com

Brandi @ http://yeewittlethings.blogspot.ca

Julie @http://theprogressiveparent.blogspot.com

Just another blogger mom @ http://our365days.blogspot.com

Delilah @ http://www.semidomesticatedmama.com

Anna @ http://mylifeandkids.com

JD @ http://honestmom.com

Kelley @ http://kelleysbreakroom.blogspot.com

Paige @ http://www.paigekellerman.com/

Brooke@ http://grantandbrookestone.blogspot.com/

Sorta Supermom@ http://www.confessionsfromboystown.com

gsarah@http://www.homesweetgnome.com/

BTW....I broke the rules and tagged 12...so that is one more thing about myself, I am a little bit of a rulebreaker :)

xoxo-Kim

An announcement and a giveaway!

2012-04-25T07:05:00.003-07:00

I have teamed up with a group of amazing women in the My Life and Kids Community. Check us out

HERE

While you are at it...you can check out Anna's Blog for the big announcement AND Finding the Funny

HERE

There are all kinds of fabulous discussions going on as we speak. Things such as...

*What is your best wedding advice
*How to deal with the terrible twos
*What are your blog goals for 2012
*Vacation planning on a budget

You don't want to miss out on these great (and sometimes hilarious) discussions...When I say amazing women, we are talking hysterical here people.

AND (the best part) Enter to win a $50.00 Amazon gift card here! You can enter up 11 times. (You get one entry by joining the community...and one additional entry for every one of us community leaders you follow, that makes a total of 11 entries). Join up and Enter! Happy Wednesday!

-Kim

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Minnie Mouse was Killed on my Daughter's Birthday

2012-04-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

As you all know, Ella turned two this weekend. She was a little under the weather so we pretty much just layed low and hung out at home. We still tried to make it as fun as we possibly could for a child with a cold. We played in the backyard, she jumped on the trampoline. We ordered pizza...her favorite...

She had a blast opening her presents which consisted almost solely of Minnie Mouse stuff (her favorite). She got a baby, minnie stuffed animals all kinds of fun stuff, so she was pretty happy despite being sick.

Even big sister Jenna made awesome cupcakes for her...

I know, Minnie Mouse and Hello Kitty...but she loves kitties too...even though that is kind of ironic...

But, you see there are a couple of quirks my little Ella has. I mean, really, don't we all? I will share one with you...She HATES the Happy Birthday Song. There is nothing about it that makes her "Happy".

Well, I guess I will share two, she likes to wear helmets. All. the. time. So here is my little Ella as we are singing to her...we stopped. I promise...see?

Now, I must carefully explain the next picture or you will all think I am insane for taking it. Saying things like, "Why is she taking a picture instead of stopping her child" You know, that kind of stuff.

Here is my full explanation. We were singing. (picture) We stopped (picture) and then she began eating her cupcake when all of the sudden Jenna starts flipping out screaming at Clover (the cat). She is yelling that he is eating a mouse...everybody jumps up from the table to go and see...I get up, to shew him away to clean up the mess, when low and behold she runs past me (yes, I still had the camera in my hand and Steve was about to grab her) but...what do you think she is yelling???

"No Meow, Meow!!!! Run Minnie....Run Mousy!!!" Seriously, that is what she is yelling.

I think Clover really just wanted to boycott the whole Minnie Mouse theme...he was taking one for the Hello Kitty Team...Poor Ella and Poor Minnie.

-Kim

*On a side note. I had a discussion with Clover and let him know he is no longer allowed to bring Birthday presents to any parties.

New Blog Design!

2012-04-24T06:27:00.001-07:00

I am so excited....well, you can see why. Brooke from http://www.mytimedesigns.com/ gave me a complete blog makeover. I can't even begin to tell you how patient she was with all my questions....and me saying things like, " I want this, no maybe I don't...or...How do you do this?" Ummmm yeah. Poor Brooke. She always answered every question AND showed me how to do different things I have always wanted to know.

I have wanted to do this for a while now, but I couldn't figure out all of the things I wanted done. I thought I finally figured it all out....and still would change my mind here and there. But ultimately, it is absolutely perfect. I was so tired of everything looking so cluttered and mish mashed everywhere. She made everything look clean and pristine!

Whoot whoot! Now, sit back and have a looksy around and tell me (and Brooke) what you think!

-Kim

A letter to my Miracle Baby, Ella Marie on her 2nd Birthday

2012-04-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

*It is only fair for me to warn you, this is not my usual funny post, you might even cry, but some of the best things in life aren't easy.*

My dearest Ella,

Today you are two. I can't believe two years have passed since you entered into the world. God blessed us with the biggest miracle I have ever witnessed with your life.

From the time you entered the world with a little kitten like cry I have been astounded by you. Everyone who knows you is amazed by you. You even constantly shock the doctors. The thing is, I am well aware of how blessed we are. Beginning with the doctor's telling me all of the potential things that could be wrong.

When you were born you were not quite 3lbs. 4oz. They actually rounded up, see here is the picture...

you quickly dropped down to 2lbs 8oz. That was scary, little did I know, that was the least we had to be scared about. I was on a mission to get into that NICU and see you...pictures were not enough...I made it (I had to walk) and finally got to hold you almost 24 hrs after you were born.

See having a preemie there are constant worries far past being in the NICU...but anyway...you DID start gaining. At a very slow pace, but you did it. You pushed through.

Normally after having a baby, you get to take that little bundle of joy home with you. I did not. That was one of the most traumatizing things I have ever been through. I had to leave you there. By yourself, without me. But I had 4 kids at home, I have never felt so torn in half as I did on that day.

You were breathing on your own when you were born (you should not have done that) but you did. You quickly showed signs of distress and needed the assistance of a canula...but that was it. No Cpap for you. Another HUGE blessing...one I didn't realize the importance of at the time. Lack of oxygen leads to brain damage...something many preemies suffer from. Not you. You pushed through.

Like I had mentioned before in the post about your birth, there was meconium in the womb. A baby at 32 weeks gestation should not be doing that, that was a sign of major distress...but also something very scary. Your lung xrays showed meconium in your lungs. This could cause a deadly infection. They immediately put you on antibiotics. They retook the xrays and the meconium was not there.The only explanation they had for that was that the first xray was a mistake. We knew different. That was God.

You kept blowing out your IV's, and even ripping them out yourself with your tiny little hands. You were so small and your veins were so temperamental all the nurses quickly learned there was only one nurse who had magic fingers that could do your IV's...and that nurse was a man. A very large man, with equally large hands, some of the BIGGEST hands I have ever seen....hard to believe that it was his fingers that were magic. Here he is holding you.

His fingers were so large it was actually quite scary to me. But he was amazing. After a couple of weeks, they decided you needed a PIC line because they had run out of places for your IV's and they were having to change them so often. A half an hour later, they came in and did a PIC line on the baby across from you, I will never forget the screams and cries from that precious baby. You see, they don't put babies under for this terrible procedure, they can't. It is too dangerous, so they must be awake. I just held you close and cried and prayed.

The next day they told me that because of your crazy super power to push through in ALL circumstances...they were going to try letting you eat from a bottle, even though you should not be ready to do that yet and see how you do and hold off on the PIC line. What an answer to prayer. Meanwhile there was a little boy next to you. His name was Braden. You and him had a special connection. You were both due on the same day. June 15th. You were born April 20th, he was born April 10th. Would you believe he was a whole pound heavier than you when he was born? You were the smallest baby in the NICU. There were 18 babies in there. Anyway, both of you began bottle feeding around the same time. You both struggled...choked, fell asleep...it is too much on a little baby that is not even ready to be born. But you pushed through. Slowly...very slowly... you stopped choking. Braden did not.

Both of you had your neurological exams at the same time. When the neurologist came in to give us the good news that you were looking good, no brain bleeding...they pulled Braden's parents aside and told them Braden had Cerbral Palsy. I held you close again and cried and prayed and cried some more.

As you were learning to eat, you were having a few episodes of Bradycardia. See, like I said, you aren't even ready to be outside of the womb, let alone eating. Bradycardia is when the brain can't tell you to suck, swallow and breathe at the same time, so you forget to breathe, slowing your heart and you pass out. But you didn't do it nearly as often as the other babies. But let me tell you, there is nothing scarier than your child going lifeless in your arms and the nurses running and surrounding you. Soon you stopped, very soon. You weren't even allowed to breastfeed, it was too much work and you needed every calorie you could get. Soon enough, you got the hang of it. You pushed through.

Once you became 4lbs. 2oz. you were able to hold your own body temperature and we could take you home. We even had to buy a new car seat because the one we just bought for Caiden only went down to 5lbs. We were elated to take you home....but petrified. That is when we got the angel care moniter, so if you stopped breathing, we would know. That monitor went off about 10 times a day. That was an awful time. For my first time as a Mom I felt incapable of taking care of you and wondered what in the world those doctors were thinking sending you home with me. But you pushed through.

When you were home for about a week, I finally realized you no longer had cords, and tubes and that I could take beautiful pictures of you and JUST you...so I did.

These pictures still bewilder me at how amazingly beautiful you are. I took one more picture on what was your actual due date June 15, 2 months after you were born.

It took you about 4 months to "wake up". When you were 4 months old you began acting like a newborn. When you were 6 months old you began rolling over. When you were 8 months old you started crawling. You were hitting all you milestones for your adjusted age. You were showing no signs of anything preemie like. You didn't even have that classic preemie look. You pushed through.

When you were 14 months old you started walking. But you did it in a way I have never seen any child do before. You tried...fell..tried again....over and over for an hour and a half. You were sweating. You would not give up. It was in that moment I knew you would always be okay. It was in that moment I understood you. You had always pushed through. That was one of the biggest most life changing moments for me. You had ALL of the odds, not just some, but ALL of the odds against you. You did not give up. You never gave up. You have the most strength and determination of anyone I have ever known. I had no idea the immensity of the blessing God was giving us when he gave us you. I have learned more from you in the two years of you being on this earth than I have learned in my 33 years of life.

The biggest lesson of all is that you belong to God. Not me. He is entrusting me with your life. What an honor. I have learned to trust God in a way I never had before. Your entire life was out of my control, completely. All I could do was pray. I have never prayed more in my entire life. God answered every one of my prayers (even the little ones). And now I have a happy, healthy and amazing little human being. You are kind, you will give your crackers to Caiden. You are silly, you love wearing helmets. You love Minnie Mouse. You love food. You hate the Happy Birthday song. You are healthy.You love your family and we love you more than words can say. Happy Birthday Ella. Here you are on your big day...

I'll love you forever

I'll like you for always

As long as I'm living

My baby you'll be.

-Mommy

Getting prettied up!

2012-04-21T17:47:00.002-07:00

So.....my blog is getting a facelift from Brooke over at http://www.getouttamyheadplease.com . Who is totally awesome by the way. Starting Monday, my blog will be offline until the final reveal...Are you as excited as me????

Probably not...but that's cool, I have enough excitement for everyone going on over here :)

-Kim

Holding Laundry Hostage

2012-04-18T07:20:00.002-07:00

One of the best parts about being Mom is the control. Us type A personalities LOVE being Mom because ultimately you have the control over most situations without anyone knowing it. In case you haven't thought this out...let me let you in on a dirty little secret I have.

There is a hostage situation in my house. I created it a couple of years ago when the kids started thinking they could make their own decisions and stuff. L.A.M.E. What were they thinking? Clearly they just weren't.

Sometimes they choose to wear stupid clothes. ( Like we did in the 80's) BUT we were totally cool. Kids these days just look weird. Like wearing their pants around their ankles (thank the Lord my son doesn't do that)...BUT my daughter has this idea she should be allowed to wear shorts that show her butt...or all these rips in her pants. She can't. She keeps asking, but I will not budge.

I am sure one day they will rebel and let my Grandkids show their butts off while telling stories of how I was too controlling. Whatevs...currently nobody can see my kids butt and I am totally cool with that.

Recently my short length rule backfired on me. Ashley has decided she will not wear shorts because she is too hot in the longer shorts...so she is just going to wear pants...again with the logic and thinking for herself thing...see what I am talking about? Anyways, she discovered the pencil skirt. It fits the length requirement. How can I say no? So I bought her one for her birthday. She was overjoyed. But here is my problem.

She can rock it...and suddenly she doesn't quite look 15 anymore. So, I came up with a solution to my problem. I will hold it hostage.

She wore it, it is dirty. It is in the laundry room. When she asks me if it is clean the answer is..."So and so needed underwear...I haven't gotten to it." Get it? I am a genius, yes, I know.

But in all my creativity a little mini tragedy happened yesterday. The pencil skirt got thrown in with the regular wash. It is a gentle cycle low temp. setting kind of a skirt. I pulled it out of the dryer and it had shrunk. *OOPS* Now Ella has something to play with. (And I think it might actually fit her)

-Kim

Click here to vote for me...pretty please?

Guest Room Overhaul

2012-04-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

Well my Dad moved out a couple of weeks ago and now I have a guest room. I never painted the room or did anything with it because I didn't really want to mess with his space and stuff...so...now I am gonna mess with it. Hee hee hee...you all know my love of a good can of paint :)

Here is what the room looks like now (His pictures are still on the wall...they won't be there after)

This picture is kind of my inspiration for the color scheme.

This is the bedding I picked up at Marshalls....It is like a slice of heaven every time I walk in there. Seriously...Steve would be so happy if I just stayed out. BUT, this bedspread was only $40.00. The same kind are selling for $160 at Kohl's...it was a steal. Again, I LOVE Marshall's...and the Home Goods store...and Hobby Lobby...okay, I will stop now.

Originally, I picked this color for the paint...I love it.

Then I looked down and remembered this.

That is not going to work...another reason I HATE my carpet ( I know I harp on this a lot..but come on...who does this to a house???)...but we ALL know why I have green carpet. So, I have changed my color scheme to a shade of blue in the sky of the picture.

I also have a nightstand I picked up off Craigslist. I am going to paint it black.

What do you think? Can't wait to show you guys the finished product! I may be showing it in sections though...

-Kim

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Coloring Easter Eggs....Brison style

2012-04-12T06:49:00.002-07:00

Every year we color Easter eggs. Yes, the wonderful happy memories of rainbows and unicorns. I am going to give you a real glimpse into how it went down in my house this year.

It is Caiden and Ella's first year coloring eggs. I told Caiden we paint eggs to make the Easter bunny happy so that he will leave you an Easter basket with goodies and hide all the eggs. Along with that, it was Ashley and Dylan's first year of wanting to be elsewhere (the joy of teenagers). They enjoy doing it, but being at their friends house is way cooler apparently...duh. And then there is Jenna...anyone who knows Jenna knows she is quite the personality...a little Jekyl and Hyde.

So we all sit at the table, ALL of us (and my friend) ready to color eggs.

Grrrr.....Ashley is already turning her head. What is that anyway? This is a HAPPY family memory, doesn't anyone else get that? Let's try this again...

Oh forget it, why bother? ANYWAYS....we begin painting eggs when we hear "Crack"...followed by Caiden "oops".

I tell Caiden it is okay, turn to look at Ella and here she is.

Jenna "If Ella eats ALL the eggs, we aren't going to get to color any!"

"Crack" "Caiden! Quit breaking all the eggs!" says Jenna (of course)

"Sorry Nenna" "Crack"

"Mom! If Caiden keeps breaking the eggs, and Ella won't stop eating them, we won't have any left...can you do something about this?" says Jenna (of course) I turn to look at Ella....and there she is, still eating eggs. At least the two of them are having fun. I am not going to do a dang thing.

Here are the masterpieces.

I look at Caiden and he tells me "Easter Bunny soooooo happy!" "Yes, Caiden" I say, "The Easter bunny will be soooo happy!"

And he was:)

-Kim

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I'll love your forever sign DIY

2012-04-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

My sister in law is having a baby. Although, I have known her since she was like 4, so I have always called her my little sister. I am so excited. BUT she lives in Missouri (insert sad face). She is having a baby shower this weekend (insert even bigger sad face here) and I can't be there. So on top of really fun little things, I made this sign for her. The saying is from my favorite baby book I have read to all of my kids. I even have it on the wall in my daughters room. So, of course my little sister needs it in her babies room.

Here is the finished product.

Yay! I love it. First you take your piece of wood and sand any rough edges. I used and electric hand
sander, but this could be done by hand. The wood wasn't too rough, except on the edges.

Then you paint the whole thing. I chose a cream color, I thought white would be too bright. But really that choice is up to you.

Next is the words. You can do this with any kind of sticker really, I am sure, but I used vinyl. I got
this super cool gismo recently and am having so much fun playing with it. The Cameo Silhouette. I deem it a must have for all DIYers out there.

All you need to do is connect it to your computer, input the dimensions, choose your font, and bam...here you go...

I used 3 different fonts for different parts of the saying, as you can see. All you do next, is put your vinyl in the silhouette and it cuts it all perfectly. Seriously, love this machine. Next, you need to get out your transfer paper and put it directly over the top of your vinyl and peel it off. This will get your letters ready to place on your surface.

Now peel back the transfer paper very slowly, peeling your letters off the strip of vinyl.

Now that that step is done, you can place this directly on your dry, painted surface.

Now, slowly peel the transfer paper off...leaving the lettering behind on the sign.

Ahhh...done...just kidding! Now for the fun part. Time to paint it ALL.

Now time to let it dry. I let it dry for 24 hours. Remember I live in SoCal, so it is warm and dry. If you have moisture in the air where you live, you may need to wait a little longer.I chose a dark navy blue to match my sister's nursery. Once it is dry, peel off the letters.

Now it is time to do some fine tuning. Take your fine grit sand paper (around 220) and sand the edges and throughout the sign to get the look you are going for. And voila! You are done!

Here is another sign I recently did.

Let me know if you did this on your own, I would love to see how everyone's projects turn out!

-Kim

Linking up with,
http://todayscreativeblog.net
http://www.notjustahousewife.net
http://ourdelightfulhome.blogspot.com
http://www.getouttamyheadplease.com
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
http://milkandcuddles.com
http://thediydreamer.blogspot.ca/
http://littleinspiration.com
http://polkadot-pretties.blogspot.com
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com/
http://www.pincushioncreations.com
Click here to vote for me, or don't....that's cool too :)

A little rearranging.

2012-04-04T15:31:00.004-07:00

So I have a problem in my house. My family room. I will not even take a full picture of it right now, because I hate it so much. I am tackling it a little at a time. Right now, I have been working on this corner. When we moved in, I decorated it like this.

There are multiple problems here. The pictures were given to me, I like them, but they aren't really my
style. The sofa table I got at a garage sale, and I am not a fan of the farmhouse style, but I bought it to paint it...so I just put it there for now....Then I painted it and made my own picture and it looked like this.

So, while I love the way all of this looks together, the yellow didn't look right in my living room. Now I want a white sofa table. Shoot. I am not about to paint this table again, so I sold it. Now it looks like this.

As much of a fan of toys as I am and all, this look isn't really working out for me either. At the same time, I have a little problem in my dining room. I painted a dresser and am using it as a buffet. I love it, I love how it turned out, but it was not matching the style of my dining room. Here is how it looked.

The shabby chic doesn't really match my table. So...today, I had an epiphany. Here it is.

Ahhh...breathe of fresh air. I still have green carpet and vertical blinds...BUT one thing at a time. What do you guys think?

-Kim

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Another April Fool's Day

2012-04-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

Another April Fool's Day has come and gone. Another year with a day full of memories. April Fool's is big at our house. No matter what is going on, the world stops in the Brison household for April Fool's. E.V.E.R.Y. year.

This year was NOT the exception. It is hard for us to top years passed, we can always try.The kids are getting older and a "little" more clever. But usually they just do silly things. Not actual pranks. Actual pranks played on Mom...not a good idea. I can prank them...but they cannot prank me. That is the law. They tell their stories, and they all end with "And then Mom got mad." Let's not end our stories that way. So, they will not prank me this year.

This year began with Steve and I taking the babies and going to Costco. We came home to this...

Apparently the theme was upside down. Amateurs. Among these things....there were things I did not take pictures of...the pantry door was off the hinges, and upside down. The silverwear drawer was swapped with another drawer. Like I said. Amateurs. However, well played for their age group, and way to play it safe and not make Mom mad. There was also this...ALL of Steve's socks tied together. Clever.

Until I went upstairs. First, I saw this, going into their bathroom.

Again, amateurs. Why do you warn anyone before playing the prank? Then they know it is coming. But it is cute, I will give them that. Anyway, I am in a rush, we have been gone at Costco, like I said, and I really have to use the potty. I am running in, unzipping really quick...sit down and slip, sideways, half into the toilet, with one arm completely IN...the toilet. Thank God it had been flushed or someone would D.I.E. Vaseline, folks. I didn't see it coming, there was no tape going into my bathroom warning me.

Jenna said she told Ashley I would kill her and she should not do it. Would you like to know what her response was? "It's okay, it will be worth the pleasure I will get out of it." Yep. She said it.

We played some good tricks on them, but right now, I am plotting my revenge. And it will be big, and not on April Fool's. Because, I am sore. From falling IN the toilet. Another April Fool's day ending in...."And then Mom got mad..."

-Kim

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How to get a weathered look for your furniture...DIY

2012-03-28T20:25:00.001-07:00

If you have some extra furniture laying around that needs some revamping...here is one of the many ways to do it. I have a couple of techniques I like to use, this is just one of them. It really depends on the look you are going for. This is a more "weathered" look that I wanted on these two pieces.

This was what they looked like before.

The little dresser on the left was spray painted a matte white...L.A.M.E....the person even spray painted the hardware...no joke. Who does that? Anyways, the first thing you want to do is prime because the one on the right has an ultra glossy finish and I want my paint to stick. I did not need to prime the one on the left, they ultimately did it for me with their spray-on paint.

Here is what it looked like after.

Then you paint it with a satin paint in a darker shade of brown. Really any color of brown you are looking for, if you are looking for a darker wood look under go darker, if you want a lighter shade, go lighter. Here is what it should look after.

You do not need to be perfect with this step, as you can see, there is primer showing through, remember this is not your final step. I am using a roller to get the larger areas and a brush to get the smaller areas. With a look like this, brush strokes don't matter, remember you are going for a weathered look.

The next thing you do is paint over the brown with your color...in this particular case it was yellow. Wait a few minutes for the paint to get tacky...and rub it off in the corners, edges, anywhere you want the brown to show through. Just use an old rag. Unfortunately, this part is so important to wait just the right amount of time, I didn't take a picture.

But the look you are going for is this...

Now for this table, I bought new hardware...the original hardware was wood and very ugly. For the little pink dresser I kept the hardware. It looked like this before...

I used this absolutely amazing product I found and spray painted this hardware, after I took it off the dresser of course...another step I forgot to take a picture of...I know, I am a total failure.

This stuff is amazing, it doesn't drip, and leaves a metallic finish...super fabulous product!

When I was done, the knobs looked like this..

Now, both finished products...before...

and after...

-Kim

Hooking up with,
http://littleinspiration.com
http://www.houseofhepworths.com
http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/
http://todayscreativeblog.net/
http://www.homestoriesatoz.com

Click here to vote for me...or don't, that's cool too :)

Furniture Reveal

2012-03-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I have been working on painting furniture as a little side business. I am calling it furniture bootcamp. It has been a blast and has kept me insanely busy...more than usual. I thought, why not? With 5 kids I didn't have anything better to do...well, the truth of the matter is, one of my 5 kids has apraxia. I have gone into detail in other posts. Once he turns 3 (next week) early intervention stops paying for his services. ( Speech 2x a week ) We also need to add OT to that now. Insurance copays are a lot. Our grand monthly total is going to be around 400-500 a month. We can swing it, but no extra breathing room. I like my breathing room....so that is the full explanation, and shoot, I am having a blast! The only problem is, I didn't realized how much I was going to love these pieces and parting with them has been hard! Here are my first two.

Here is the up close detail of the white dresser.

I already sold the little pink one, but I have become really attached to this white one and am currently using it as a buffet in my dining room. Ack...that is what I mean about having a hard time parting with them...(I almost kept the pink one, it looked so darn cute in my daughter's room)

Anyway, I will be coming out with tutorials on both pieces next week (they were completely different processes).

So this is how I am currently spending nap time. Sorry nobody has clean laundry right now...

What do you think? Are you working on any projects?

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Why I have green carpet.

2012-03-19T19:55:00.001-07:00

I hate my carpet...it is green. It looks like grass. Or 1985...or grass in 1985. It is not 1985 and grass belongs outside. Anyway, I digress. The first thing I said when looking at this white-walled grass growing house was...we have to paint and replace the carpet. We painted, but we have decided to keep the carpet. Not because we are trying to bring back the 80's or because we are trying to be out-doorsy...it is because of this...

Not so much the box itself...but this...

Why put food in a bowl when you can just spread it all over the floor? Makes sense to me...ummm, yeah. This is what I walked into after folding laundry. I like that his hand is full of cornflakes like this is a completely normal way of life.

Reason #2 of why we kept the green carpet ...

That is sugar in the raw...I am thinking dog dog just barfed it...

Nevermind..my one year old is about to...she is crying because I took away her "candy" yes, that is what she calls it.

On to reason #3...

This is what happens when nail polish gets in the hands of a two year old. You are jealous and secretly wishing YOU had green carpet too now aren't you? I might be bringing back the 80's here...not intentionally of course.

Yep, I totally let the girls paint his nails...I am sure it is wrong on so many levels...but guess what? I don't care...he is pretty stoked...therefore so am I...and he is momentarily busy so I can get some laundry done so reason #1 hopefully won't happen again today.

-Kim

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Tis the season...

2012-03-14T19:25:00.001-07:00

It is peep season...forget spring and all it's beauty...the peeps are coming out to play...This is what we like to do in my family...

My very talented Mother made these first three...

Chick won this battle...bunny didn't have a chance.

Then of course there is the drunken peeps...hey...everybody needs to have a little fun, right?

The one below is my personal favorite.

Then this last winter, my Mom, Aunt and I got together. My Mom goes to sleep early, very, very early. That was not smart. My Aunt and I hid the coffee pot (since she would be up earlier than us) and replaced it with this...

It was Christmas (yes there are peeps for all seasons)...Those are nuked snowmen around the Christmas tree in case you were wondering.

And of course everyone needs a Peep Smashing Machine.

The full diorama...Barbie is dragging away a Christmas tree...Battle cat cooked a reindeer in the toaster oven, total carnage. Don't worry, we hid the coffee pot in a place where my Mom could find it. We aren't that cruel. Only she didn't find it. Oops. I think she still might be mad at me for that.

This is what we call peep art. I know you all want to be as cool as us and make some art too. We are crafty like that.

-Kim

My coffee maker died.

2012-03-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

I could not write this post on the day of it's death because I was WAY to traumatized. The thing that is really frustrating is, I have a back-up coffee maker. But it was in the garage and I don't know where in the garage. Sometimes the garage is just an abyss of stuff with no way out. So I did not go look. My kids were pretty traumatized by the sudden shock of it all too...

It has gotten me through wee early hours with these two munchkins.

Aww...look how cute they are...only usually they aren't in black and white and smiling at each other, usually my mornings look more like this..

You would be addicted too.

I love coffee...see, I always have a cup in my hand...

And now it has died...this is where it will rest.

Here is the plaque I worked so hard to create in memoriam.

But now I am happy...here is why.

I asked on fb what kind of coffee maker people liked and there were a few different responses which left me sooo confused, I decided to get the same one (I am a creature of habit) particularly because of this.

You see when I asked, I got one VERY clever response, here it was.

The REAL Adventures of a SoCal Mom

Yesterday

Coffee lovers...my coffee maker broke. Yes, sad. This is my 3rd Cuisinart..I have been told the Bunn is great, what kind of coffee maker do you use and do you like it?

I did not know my coffee maker had a morning timer. AND I have had it for THREE years people! Three years, that is how incredibly lame and technologically challenged I am. When I read what my cousin wrote (she by the way has a blog too, you can click here to read it), I thought, I totally need the make itself button, and there it was all along...

So now I have a new coffee maker that can make it's own coffee, I just need to figure out how to do it...Anyone want to come help me?

As for the making of the kids and husband getting themselves up and ready in the morning is there a button out there that I have been missing all of this time too?

Click here to vote for me, or don't that's cool too :)

Song for Sunday "A More Beautiful You"

2012-03-11T07:44:00.000-07:00

Love this song. Love the message. Love Johnny Diaz. The End.

DIY Start being AWESOME sign

2012-03-05T13:39:00.005-08:00

I need to start off by thanking Allison at House of Hepworths for my inspiration for this project. She has a sign...an AWESOME sign...no pun intended. It looks like this.

I am jealous of her sign (still am) and want it. BAD. So I went to her incredibly awesome website and followed her tutorial...sort of...I did things a little different, but here is the link to her tutorial if you want your sign to look like her awesome sign :)

Allison's AWESOME Art

And, here is the picture of mine...much different. But I kind of love it.

She has this really cool machine (you can see in her tutorial) that I don't have to make super awesome letters..hence mine looking different. So here is how I did it.

We bought the wood at Lowe's. One 4in. and one 6in. wide piece to actually make it. (I think they were 12ft. long each) And one 1in. wide by about a 1/2 and in. thick piece of wood 6 ft. long to fasten the back.

Steve cut them all to size...we wanted them to be around 2 1/2 ft long. The total size of the picture is about 2 1/2 ft. wide by 3ft. long...ish...perfection is NOT the key here.

This is what the back looks like.

Steve was very happy to do this for me...NOT...he is a perfectionist and the fact that this is NOT supposed to look perfect is a little brutal for him

He was kind of seeing red if you know what I mean...but he hung in there like a trooper.

Now that Steve's job is done...I get to play...I painted it in a light blue. I just bought a sample ($3.00 at Lowe's) of paint. I didn't even use half of it...so you could possibly get away with one bottle of acrylic paint if you wanted. I just did a thin layer because I wanted a somewhat whitewashed look.

Then I took a fine grain sand paper and sanded the edges and a few other places here and there.

Now it is time to make the words. I just did it on Word. Pick your font, size and background color. I printed it out on just regular computer paper.

Now just take water and a paint brush and paint your edges you want.

Now rip off the edges and it will look like this.

If it doesn't, you have messed up. Just kidding. Maybe. I suppose it is up to you. LOL Next you take mod podge (I used a matte glaze) You literally will paste your words on the board. Using a sponge brush, I covered the back of the words completely with the mod podge. Pasted it on, and smoothed out the bubbles. Then I did a layer of mod podge on top of the words. Completely covering the paper and getting the edges to stick down.

It bubbled up a little...which had me worried, but as soon as it dried, all the bubbles went away and it was as if the paper just sunk into place. Completely bubble-less. yay! (I forgot to take a picture here of the bubbles...but I was a little nervous)

Your end product will look like this.

If it doesn't you messed up again. Just kidding. Maybe. It is up to you again I suppose. Now go out there and start being awesome!

*I also painted the table, the tutorial on that will be coming out in another week or so.

Click here to vote for me, or don't that's cool too :)

This song's for my 15 yr. old. (Song for Sunday)

2012-03-04T06:02:00.002-08:00

Today is Ashley (my first born)'s 15th birthday. I am awestruck at the number. It is a little bittersweet in so many ways. We do a thing where the kids get a birthday party every other year and what we deem a "family" party the opposite year. Since we have moved to California we aren't by family anymore and this is her "family" year. It is hard to not have family around, especially times like birthdays and holidays.

BUT...the other thing that was kind of crazy about her birthday is she didn't want anything. NOTHING. She wanted to go shopping with me and Jenna at the mall and pick stuff out together. Part of that was funny. I guess she doesn't like my Mom jeans...just kidding, I don't really wear those...all the time.I guess she is at the age where I can no longer be trusted...I mean she likes what I pick out, maybe she just wanted the time. Yes, that is it. I am going to tell myself THAT. Anyways, I am looking forward to spending some time with my 15 year old. I can't believe she is 15. Where does the time go?

Here are a couple of things I love the most about Ashley.

1. She is kind.

2. She is beautiful.

3. She is outgoing.

4. She used to be shy...but now she is #3 and that is hard, so I love that about her.

5. She has my sarcastic sense of humor.

6. She is so stinkin' smart...straight A's, honor roll...and she is in high school.

7. She just got voted "most gullible" for the yearbook, that is a Steve characteristic that I love.

8. She manages to always be so softspoken, even when she is mad.

9. She is majorly task oriented and driven.

10. She is more organized than me...that is really organized.

I chose this song because for her 14th birthday we took her to Arizona to go to the Revolution Tour with her friends from Az. Hawk Nelson was one of the main singers...She called me...from the concert....this is what I heard...I got Brit Nicole's signature and Hawk Nelson touched my hand!!!!! Squuuuueeeeeeee!!!!! This song is goofy, funny and overall awesome and makes me think of her. Live Life Loud baby girl.

*disclaimer...I do not advocate the beating up of the elderly. I must post this for this video...it is all in good fun :)

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